Apple: New App Store Record Set in January, $500M Spent on Apps

Apple on Thursday announced that it set a new App Store billing record during the first week of January, suggesting the company had a heck of a holiday sales season with millions of new devices activated ahead of the new year. Apple's earnings will be out later this month, when we'll learn just how many new iPads and iPhones it sold, but today we're getting a taste of what to expect.

Cupertino said it earned "nearly half a billion dollars" from app sales and revenue gained from in-app purchases through those apps. Apple said that New Year's Day, specifically, "marked the single biggest day ever in App Store sales history." Get this stunning fact, too: developers have earned a total of $25 billion since the iTunes App Store launched in 2008, but $10 billion was made in 2014.

Again, these figures suggest there were millions of new devices being activated through the holiday season, and we'll find out the final number later in January when Apple releases its latest financial figures.